Hendrix makes classy departure from Tide

You expected nothing less but Richard Hendrix was beyond gracious in his adios to the Alabama basketball program.

While on the surface, his decision to remain in the NBA draft might be perplexing given that he is likely not a first-round pick, he had some fascinating comments about the prospect of returning to school and raise his draft stock.

"I don't think it would be right to come back simply to better my situation," Hendrix told The Times' Bill Bryant on Monday.

"That might come at the expense of the development of some players and might hurt the team's success. I don't think that's the way you should go about your business."

Wow. Call me naive but that mature outlook pretty much blew me away.

And in Bill's column about Hendrix, it's apparent the All-SEC forward has no delusions about the draft on June 26.

"I'm prepared for it to be a long night," Hendrix said. "It could be bliss or it might not be the greatest experience, but it's not going to be because I haven't given it my all."